relax-O-mation

greetings on yet another Eleventeen Degree Day. i've enjoyed the extra time off this weekend, and aim to enjoy every last minute of it before calling it a night. but before i return to this relax-O-mation evening, here's a few brief updates on my Memorial Day ::

1. i finally and completely finished Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov--and ahead of my June 1 goal by an entire ...2 days. this speaks volumes to my high opinion and enjoyment of this work. seriously. this was one of the best books i've read. ever. maybe The Best Ever. if i'm ambitious i'll offer further thoughts in the near future...

2. i went with my roommate renae to her family reunion. we ate lots of casseroles and plenty of baked beans... in a church gym. i met aunt betty and cousin martha and prayed for henrietta who was in the hospital. then we played with the kids on the playground. then we all passed out from heat stroke.

3. later we bbq-ed (read cheezy brats, watermelon and push-pops) at John Ball Park with friends. here are two photos compliments of kate and curt. you provide the captions.

253degrees and a declaration to rememberance

it's hot. 253degrees to be exact. my house is hotbox, and i feel like i'm right back in the middle of last summer. ...last summer at this time i was working at Frederik Meijer Gardens as a caterer and bartender. I'd also been waiting tables at Heroes Bar and Grill for two months. in addition, i was listening to "Silent Alarm" by Bloc Party.

i hated my jobs. i'll never forget it...barely making enough to pay the bills, wondering what it would take for me to find a job i could get lost in, feeling embarrassed in my McDonald's-style cap and polo as i bussed dishes and wiped down dirty tables and chairs...i'll never forget how terribly i wanted to give myself to work that i cared about.

and i shouldn't forget where i've come from. i've noticed when i do i start taking things for granted, even in the short 4 months i've been at my new job. and as soon as i start taking success, money and influence for granted, i get numb. and so here's my declaration to remembrance. there was a day not so long ago when i scraped half-eaten sandwiches into ToGo boxes, wiped up spilled soup and took out trash bags of rancid leftovers. and i wanted to make a difference, but all i could do was bring a miller lite, a bud light, maybe a corona. ...yes, the weather brings back memories. and i'm still listening to Bloc Party, but this summer i'm listening to "Silent Alarm Remix."

on a related note, i looked up the weather in western europe, and it's about 70degrees during june, versus an average of 80degree in grand rapids. then i started wondering why. so i looked up latitudes for comparison. keep in mind that the higher the latitude, the farther north a location is.

grand rapids :: 43degrees N
interlaken :: 46degrees N. keep in mind the base elevation here is 2000ft...so it's cold. 30s and 40s cold.
paris :: 48.5degrees N
prague :: 50degrees N
london :: 51.3degrees N
berlin :: 52.3degrees N
amsterdam :: 52.5degrees N
mackinac island :: 45.5degrees N. so every single city we'll be in this summer is north of mackinac island. so basically i'm spending 3weeks in the equivalent of Michigan's UP. minus the cows.

and on another related note, i bought a $10 watch from Target this weekend. it looks like something my brother would have been fascinated with in the 2nd grade. afterall, it goes underwater up to 50m. my thinking? i won't have my cell phone to keep time while in europe this summer, so why not buy an ugly watch to help me out?!?! ...and since i don't plan to use the watch here in the States, i just set it in CEST (Central European Summer Time) for +6 hours. i wore it around for 20 minutes or so this morning...ha! i guess i'm a little excited. Did i mention the watch has a blue light-up face?!?!

the River Bank

saturday, may 13, 2006. 8.10am.
i forgot to mention that my final time for the Fifth Third River Bank was 26.31 minutes. i'm looking forward to running faster in my next race later this summer or fall.

me and the sibs on mother's day

brooke, 12 years old, eats a chocolate muffin.
this chocolate obsession derives from her eldest sister.













nick side-lit like an angel. enjoys taking long walks on the beach with girlfriend jessie and studying biochem and business at Calvin College...minus the part about studying.













moi. here demonstrating modigliani-esqu neck posture.













my katerina ivanova (catherine). ...becoming old enough to be not only younger sister, but friend.

















sister pic

















modigliani

family band

mother's day brought the family together, as mother's day is known to do. we took a stroll across the pearl street bridge to the vanandel museum. ...i swear, it was just a family get together. not a band practice. ...but we look like a band, don't we?!?!

we might be brit pop from the looks of it... if it weren't for my dad's tucked-in, button-up shirt and slicked-back hair.

yes, a band. in which my mom is the lead singer. and my 12-year-old sister is the drummer peaking from the background. my brother is lead electric and backup vocals. i'm keyboard and my dad is bass.

that makes my 17-year-old sister, who's took this picture, the band manager.

hm. if my family were truly a band, i'd have to strongly suggest that we call ourselves Homeschoolers Unite...or You're Weird but I'm Weirder... or maybe just Homeschool... how embarrassing...ha...

tomorrow night

thursday. 9pm.

king kong (1933)
dir. Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack

runtime :: 104 minutes

a true classic. don't miss it.

film review

"The Time Machine" (1933) :: a film review
mostly, i was scared of the Morlocks' fuzzy, blue costumes. okay, so i just wish i were scared. but this movie wasn't worth any emotional involvement.

i'd hoped for more, but all of the fascinating social//economic//political issues of H.G. Wells's novel are watered down in the film. or completely washed out.

plus, they tacked on a romance between the main character and a desperate but beautiful woman. the lowest of blows to a literary classic!

rating: *

french pick-up line

French Pickup Line
the scene :: french winery
the characters :: American girl. French man.
the backstory :: over the finest of French wines, American girl addresses French man in fluent French.

[American girl] ::
Excusez-moi, monsier (say :: Ex-KY-zay mwah, muh-SYUH).
translation :: Pardon me, sir.

[American girl] :: J'aime beaucoup votre moustache (say :: Shem BOH-coo voh-truh moo-STASH).
translation :: I really like your mustache...

heehee. that's going to be my classic pickup line...that is, if i can get up the courage to approach any mustached men given my deathly fear of them.

practicing my french

i made my plane reservations today ::
june 17th :: grand rapids to amsterdam
july 6th :: london to grand rapids


i've also been working on helpful and less-than-helpful phrases in French. here they are ::

-Tournez a droite (TOUR-nay ah dwa). = Turn right.
-Tournez a gauche (TOUR-nay ah goash). = Turn left.
-J'aimerais le vin (jour-vour-sway lay veen). = I would like wine.
-Ces truffes puantes sont surfaites (Say tryf py-ON sohn SYR-fey) = These stinking truffles are overrated.
-Heureusement ce ne sont que des valises moches de Louis Vuitoon! (UR-uz-mon suh nuh sohn kuh day vah-leez mosh duh Loo-ee Vwee-TON!) = Lucky they're only these tacky Louis Vuitton bags!
-Vous me prenez pour un clown? (Voo muh pruh-nay poor hun CLOON?) = Do you take me for a clown?
-Je ne veux pas à!!! (Jay nay voe pah ah!!!) = I don't want to!!!

additional basic vocab ::
ou est (oo eh)? = where is?
ou sont (Oo say)?= where are?
s'il vous plaît (see poo play) = please
merci (mare-see) = thank you
de rien (day rgayng?) = you are welcome
se (say) = it is
pourriez-vous le faire (pour yay voo lay far)? = could you help?

notice :: film night resumes

yes, that's right. we're resuming (earlier than expected, because i just can't wait. and i hope you can't either.)

the routine ::
thursday
9pm
mi casa (call or email for directions. everyone -- filmmaker, film critic, people who like movies, people who drool in their sleep -- yes, pretty much everyone is welcome.)
informal discussion to follow.

The Time Machine (1960)
Dir. George Pal
From the book by H.G. Wells, a scientist and tinkerer builds a time machine and uses it to explore the distant future where there are two races, a mild gentle race, and a cannibalistic one living underground. His machine is stolen by the underground race and he must risk capture himself (and being eaten) to return to his own time (compliments to imdb.com).

Runtime :: 103 min

...and of course you're all wondering if we'll be watching the 2002 version of this film next week, directed by Simon Wells...to which i emphatically state No!